


Sprout, Grow, Bloom

by SugarLeigh



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Florist Renjun, Jisung is done with Renjun's shit, Magic, Multi, Slow Build, kind of a shit show tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 14:20:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18143330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarLeigh/pseuds/SugarLeigh
Summary: In which Jeno is brave, Jaemin is a disaster gay, and Renjun tries his best to console two of his customers who have a kdrama worthy love life while having his flowers constantly judge him.





	Sprout, Grow, Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> What is even my life anymore? I just love these boys so much! I want to pinch their cheeks and make sure they're eating properly. 
> 
> Not beta'd, so any and all mistakes are mine... Sorry. New chapter of A Pirate's Tale should be up either tonight or tomorrow.

“Holy shit, you charge how much for a bouquet of roses?” The smile on Renjun’s face immediately turns stilted at the corners. He knows that he’s wearing what Jisung calls his serial killer face: when he’s still smiling pleasantly, but his eyes are telling someone exactly how they’re going to die.

“The shop just a few blocks down sells them for like half the price,” the asshole in front of him continues. Renjun should’ve known that this guy was going to be a dick. He comes in with a tight fitting suit, giant knock-off watch on his wrist, and a Bluetooth earpiece. He also has a smear of lipstick on the collar of his shirt, and he came in asking for a bouquet of roses as an apology for his wife. He’s not even wearing the wedding ring.

“My flowers stay vibrant and healthy looking longer. Plus I grow all of them myself, so they’re locally produced.” My flowers are the best, bitch. Take it or leave it. The douche canoe waves apathetically.

“They’re still gonna die like the other ones.” Renjun feels his eyes twitch. He places the bouquet gently back into the bucket with the others. It quivers contently in Renjun’s hand, happy that it’s not going home with someone like that.

“No one’s forcing you to buy them. Go ahead and leave.” The man looks at Renjun, mouth open slightly in surprise.

“Seriously?” Renjun crosses his arms and glares at the man.

“Seriously. I think you need to leave.” He gapes at Renjun now, looking around.

“I want to speak to your manager! You can’t talk to me like this!” Renjun huffs a sigh and walks through the door to the backroom. He takes a minute to breathe in the comforting floral smell that’s so ingrained here. He walks back out.

“You wanted to speak to the manager? I’m also the owner. What can I do for you?” The smile on Renjun’s face is so fake, it feels like his face is about to crack. The man’s face burns bright red. With a stomp of his foot and a few muttered curses, he storms out of the shop, door slamming open and then lightly guiding closed. The little bells attached at the top jingle pleasantly.

Renjun drops the fake smile and sighs into his hands. Honestly, he shouldn’t get so angry at customers. He does have bills to pay like anyone else. Renjun brushes his fingers lightly over one of the roses in the bunch.

“It’s not you, little one. Some people just don’t know how to appreciate beauty.”

Renjun doesn’t mind working as a florist. Honestly, he loves it. He loves waking up bright and early and going to his greenhouse, the smell of compost and dirt and flowers greeting him. (Okay, maybe he doesn’t love the bright and early part of it so much, but he does love working with his flowers.) He loves the happiness on people’s faces when they see the things he created, the beautiful pieces he’s put together, just for them. Renjun loves being able to give people a little burst of beauty in their lives.

“Well, that was dramatic.” Renjun straightens up quickly and whips around to the voice. He’s greeted by a man who looks to be about his age with kind eyes and a small, genuine smile. “You’re not really a great business man, you know. Whatever happened to the customer always being right?” The man teases. Renjun scoffs.

“Well, when the customer is a jackass who complains about the price of the product but jumps at the chance to get someone in trouble to get it for free, I tend to lose my cool.” The man laughs. It’s a nice deep laugh that fills the corners of the room. The daisies in the corner ruffle their petals at the sound, waving in a non-existent breeze.

“That’s fair I guess.” The man looks around the shop, taking it all in. “I gotta say, this is place is pretty impressive.” Renjun swells with pride. He put a lot of time and effort into his little shop. When he first got the space, he didn’t know how he was going to fit everything in it while still being able to move. With some carefully placed shelves, the odd end table or three, and using the exposed beams in the ceiling, Renjun was able to make the little shop feel clustered but homey. The fairy lights intertwined with the ivy on the exposed beams probably helps too.

Chenle, his mooch of a best friend who pops by to help out at the shop when he needs cash, says that his shop makes him look like a Pinterest green witch cliché. Renjun kicks him in the shin and tells him to work on the flower orders.

“Thank you! I worked very hard on it.” The two stand in silence for a moment. “So, what can I help you with? Looking for anything in particular?”

“Right! Um. What would be the best thing to get for someone who you’re not entirely sure is interested in you but you’re pretty sure and you want to show that yes, you are interested in them if they are interested in you?” Renjun studies the now blushing man with a raised eyebrow. He sighs with a slight smile.

“What’s your name?” The man scratches the back of his neck, scuffs the toe of his shoe on the ground.

“Jeno?” Renjun chuckles when it comes out more of a question than an answer.

“Okay, Jeno. Here’s what I’m going to do for you.” Renjun walks over to one of the shelves that holds the carnations. He doesn’t have any white ones prepared, but with a quick twirl of a finger, a purple one turns white. It shakes its petals as though acclimating to its new color. He walks back over to Jeno and shoves the flower into his hands.

“I’m going to give you this one flower. What you are going to do is you’re going to go up to your person, and you’re going to hand this to them. You’re going to tell them that you like them. If they don’t like you, cool. Now you know, and you can move on with your life. If they do like you, cool. Now you have a person to take on dates and stuff.” Jeno looks at the flower in his hands like it’s going to bite him.

“But,” Jeno swallows hard. “But he’s my best friend. I’ve known him for years. If I tell him, it could ruin everything.” Renjun leans against the register counter and crosses his arms.

“I’m not saying that it’s not scary, but would you rather spend your life not knowing? Besides, if you’ve known each other for years, if he doesn’t feel the same way, this won’t ruin your friendship. Will it be awkward for a while? Probably. But if you both care for each other as best friends do, then you’ll put in the effort to get back to best friend level again.” Damn, that actually sounded smart. Good job, Renjun. Jeno runs a finger over one of the petals of the carnation, and Renjun can feel its energy wriggle in pleasure. When he meets Renjun’s gaze, he has a determined look in his eye.

“You’re right. It’s about time anyway; Mark and Donghyuk have been shouting at me to tell him for the past year.” Jeno looks down at the flower quickly before looking back to Renjun. “How much do I owe you for the flower?” Renjun waves a hand.

“Don’t worry about it. Whatever it takes for the pursuit of true love and whatnot.” Renjun pulls a face. “I’m not liable for any fallout the might come from advice given, by the way.” Jeno snorts.

“Wow. There goes all the confidence you just gave me.” Renjun rolls his eyes with a smile.

“You’re going to be fine. Stop back and let me know how it goes. Also, I feel like you’re now obligated to buy the 1 year anniversary bouquet from me.” Jeno laughs before holding out a hand, and Renjun meets him in a handshake.

“It’s a deal. Thanks, by the way.” Jeno stays there for a minute, eyes darting around the store again. Renjun huffs a breath.

“Go! Go on! Go get your boy,” he says as he shoos Jeno out of the shop. Jeno chuckles as he stumbles out of the door, calling another _thank you!_ as he goes.

Renjun looks around the now quiet store, taking a deep breath that smells like home. He feels the jeering coming from the lilac in the corner. Renjun sticks his tongue out at it as he walks past.

Back to work once more.

// * // * //

“Oh my goodness; they’re beautiful! That’s exactly what I wanted. Thank you so much!” Renjun smiles at the compliments, cheeks burning slightly. A wedding day is special. Renjun is glad that he can help make the day a little bit more extraordinary.

“Honestly, you saved everything, Renjun-ssi. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” It’s as they’re finalizing the plans for setting up and location and timing that another person busts into the shop. He’s tall and a bit lanky with big eyes that seem to hold nothing but distress as he looks frantically around the shop. Renjun quickly finishes up with the bride and hurries over to the man.

“Is everything okay?” The man’s gaze snaps to Renjun. He seems like he’s about to vibrate out of his skin.

“Not… particularly, no. How do you say I’m a complete asshole and I love you a whole lot and have for years in a bouquet?” Renjun refrains from running a hand over his face in frustration. What is with people recently? Truly.

“I guess it kinda depends on the context in which you were an asshole.” The man shifts from foot to foot, looking around again. Renjun sighs. “What’s your name?”

“Jaemin. My name is Jaemin.” Renjun nods absentmindedly, still looking him over in concern. Honestly, Renjun is kind of worried about spontaneous combustion at this point.

“Okay, Jaemin. You need to take a deep breath. I’m about to have a panic attack just looking at you.” Jaemin lets out a shaky breath.

“Oh. Is that what this is?” He sinks to the ground and sits. Renjun crouches beside him. While Jaemin has his head between his knees, Renjun motions a hand at some of the ivy hanging down, coaxing some chamomile and lavender to bloom. Their fragrance wafts across the two, and Renjun infuses it with a little stronger hint of calming energy.

“Deep breaths, okay?” Jaemin waves a hand, shaking his head.

“I’m okay,” he gasps. “I’m okay.” He’s still breathing pretty heavily, so while Jaemin continues to calm down, Renjun sits beside him. With a quick glance, Renjun has the chamomile and lavender ivy climb back up to be closer to the ceiling beams and less noticeable.

“I just. I’ve ruined everything.” Jaemin still has his head down, but it’s no longer between his legs.

“If you truly believed that, you wouldn’t be here.” Jaemin shoots a questioning glance his way. Renjun sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “If you honestly thought that everything was lost, you’d be at your home with a carton of ice cream watching rom-coms and crying your eyes out. Obviously, you think there’s some way to save whatever relationship with whomever.”

“I’m lactose intolerant,” Jaemin mumbles. Renjun rolls his eyes.

“The point still stands. I don’t know if flowers are the best way to fix everything, but it can be a start.” Renjun shrugs. “To be honest, I’m kind of useless with relationship stuff. But I’m good a listening. If you wanna talk.”

“Don’t you have to work?” Renjun chuckles.

“Perks of being my own boss: no one yells at me for slacking off for a little bit.” Jaemin chuckles, but he also kind of sounds like he’s on the verge of crying. They sit in silence for a bit, Jaemin’s shuddering breaths keeping them company.

“My best friend,” Jaemin starts. He takes a deep breath, mouth opening and closing like he doesn’t have the words. He pouts, thinks.

“My parents were older when they had me. Which is fine; I mean, it’s whatever. Parents are parents. They love me. But they were established at work, so they worked a lot. I didn’t have any siblings, so I was alone a lot. Alone until I met him.” Jaemin smiles, and it honestly changes his entire face. His eyes sparkle with nostalgia, his visage now bright and happy.

“He wasn’t anything special, just a normal looking boy on the playground, right? But when I was by myself at the sandbox, he came over and asked if I wanted to build the biggest sandcastle ever. We spent all afternoon trying to use all of the sand to make the biggest castle possible. Honestly, it just looked like a more organized mess of sand, but he was the first person to want to spend time with me.

“From that day forward, he was my best friend, the one I talked to every day without fail, the one I could tell anything. And he… He’s everything. I’ve known for years that I love him. He might not seem special at first, but when you get to know him; he’s the best person I’ve ever known.” A tear escapes down Jaemin’s cheek. He laughs to himself before wiping it away.

“God, why is this so easy to explain to a stranger, but so hard to tell him?” Renjun traces the spaces on the floor. He shrugs.

“Sometimes it’s easier because who cares what a stranger’s judgment of you is? Meanwhile, it sounds like you’re scared of him breaking your heart.” A sob wracks Jaemin.

“That’s the thing though. He confessed to me that he loves me.” Renjun frowns. He squints at Jaemin.

“I don’t get it. Then what’s the problem?” Jaemin buries his face in his hands.

“He’s the best person I know, so I want the best for him. And I’m… Not that. How can I ever possibly be that for him? We argue about stupid shit all the time, and I’m loud and obnoxious and drag him to places when he doesn’t want to go out and I yell at him too much when he hasn’t been eating well and.

“And what if we don’t work out? What if we date for a day, two, a month, years, and then all of a sudden we come to resent each other? I can’t. I couldn’t bear for that to happen.” Renjun looks at Jaemin, really takes a moment to study his face until Jaemin turns to look at Renjun.

Renjun flicks Jaemin as hard as he can in the forehead. Jaemin grabs his forehead, mouth dropping open in surprise.

“You’re being an idiot. Let’s make a list of all of the ways you’re being an idiot, shall we?” Jaemin begins to say something, but Renjun steamrolls over him.

“Number one: you’ve known this dude for how long? Of course you’re going to get into arguments about stupid shit. The key here is that you both come back to one another and keep on keeping on with each other. Together.

“As for making him do things he doesn’t want to do? That brings me to number two: you’re completely discounting his ability to say no. If he honestly didn’t want to do these things with you, he wouldn’t. While you might push him to do things he didn’t want to do originally or ever, maybe he’s doing it to spend time with you. If he really didn’t wanna, he’d tell you to fuck off.

“Number three: you’re imaging problems before there are any. Sure, you guys might get together and realize that the romantic feelings you thought you had weren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Maybe something big happens where you two having a falling out and break up. Maybe it’s circumstances that push you apart. The main thing is if you want this guy in your life, he will be and vice versa. Maybe it’ll take some time to work back to being friends, but it’ll happen if you both want it to, and from the sound of your friendship, you’re going to be in each other’s lives no matter what.” Oof, déjà vu. He swears he heard the same thing not too long ago. Maybe on that god awful kdrama Jisung’s been making him and Chenle watch on their Friday night movie nights? Eh, Renjun will claim the wise words.

Renjun looks Jaemin directly in the eye and enunciates his last bit of advice.

“Get your head out of your ass, quit being an idiot, and go apologize to that poor boy and beg for his forgiveness.” Renjun reaches into the bucket behind Jaemin and quickly sends a pulse of energy into twining a white rose and a pink lily together. “Take this, get on your knees and bow to him. Offer to profess your love in the middle of a crowded mall with a megaphone. Walk around dressed up his favorite cartoon character. Do all of his housework for forever. Do something to show him you’re sorry and serious about him.” Jaemin takes the two flowers and laughs a teary giggle.

“You’re really not that great of a businessman, are you?” Renjun scoffs at Jaemin.

“Your face isn’t a great business man, brat.” Jaemin laughs again. He brushes his fingers over the petals of the flowers before giving them a wet sniff.

“Dunno why I did that; I can’t really smell anything now that I’m stuffy.” Renjun rolls his eyes with a smile. He stands up and offers a hand out to Jaemin. He takes it, standing up, and wiping off his pants with one hand, flowers still clenched tightly in the other.

“Seriously, though. Thank you, Renjun-ssi.” Renjun’s face must have reflected his confusion because Jaemin points at his nametag with a slight smirk before scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Even though you’re a bad businessman, you’re good at giving advice and comforting people. So. Yeah. Thank you.” Jaemin is quick to bow deeply before walking out.

“Make sure to come back and pick up a bouquet for your first date!” Renjun calls after him.

Studying the ceiling with a small smile, Renjun coaxes the lavender and chamomile back down from the rafters. It does give a nice flare to the store.

// * // * //

The next time Jeno enters the store, two and a half weeks have passed since the last time, and Renjun is covered in dirt.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Renjun says immediately when they lock eyes. He’s not sure what it looks like. He’s not sure what Jeno thinks it looks like. He’s not even entirely sure why he said it, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

Renjun had spent the morning gardening. That’s not unusual. He was trying to grow a specific plant for a certain ancient potion master that is very particular about his ingredients and will spend a small fortune on quality items. It’s not out of the ordinary for Renjun to get custom orders from different patrons, but this is something that’s really important to Renjun because of the whole willing to spend a small fortune on quality items thing. Renjun has quality items. Renjun can create quality items. Renjun can cultivate quality items. Renjun would like good money for his quality items because, surprising to no one, being a florist isn’t the most profitable profession out there.

It also doesn’t help that the ingredient the potions master is asking for is a cross between two extremely temperamental plants with interesting properties. One of the plants is water phobic in the most literal sense of the word while the other is a water dwelling plant. Finding a happy medium to keep the hybrid alive has been… difficult to say the least.

And occasionally results in Renjun being coated in dirt. Not just coated, but encrusted.

Jeno stares at Renjun for moment, eyes wide, before grinning. His eyes disappear into crescents; he’s cute.

“Um, let me go just…” Renjun pats at himself, and a cloud of dirt puffs out. “Try and get some of this off? Uh, I’ll be right back.” He runs into the back room, face blazing. He quickly changes into a new set of jeans and sweater that he’s been keeping at the shop since the first dirting experience. Wiping a hand over his face with a little extraordinary push, most of the dirt rubs off. Renjun takes a deep breath to collect himself and steps back into the shop.

“Sorry about that. There was a bit of a… complication with a…shipment of flowers.” Jeno laughs at him as Renjun sits at the stool behind the counter. Jeno joins him, standing on the customer side, leaning on his elbows.

“You don’t sound too sure of that,” he teases. “You cleaned up fast.” Renjun shrugs as nonchalantly as possible.

“Not the first time it’s happened. Anyway, what can I do for you? How’d it go with lover boy?” Jeno’s face brightens even more somehow.

“You remember me?” Renjun snorts.

“You did leave kind of a lasting impression.” Jeno scratches the back of his neck sheepishly, but he’s still smiling. “I’m guessing from your bright and shiny disposition that it went well.”

“Well,” Jeno trails off. He makes a so-so motion with his hand. “It ended well. That’s all the really matters.” Renjun eyes Jeno.

“Okay, what the hell does that even mean?” Jeno laughs. “No, seriously. Like, did he tell you to get lost or has he been in love with you for years too and fell into your arms right away or what? Details, man, details!”

“Renjun-ssi, you sound like you’re watching a drama right now.” Renjun waves his hand.

“How old are you?”

“Born in 2000.”

“Drop the ssi, Jeno-yah. I think we’re past that. Plus we’re the same age.” Renjun pulls the edge of his sleeves over his hands and leans on the counter, face on his fists. “Now, come on! Get to the good stuff.” Jeno wrinkles his nose at Renjun.

“It’s kinda a long story.” Renjun looks around at the empty shop pointedly.

“Well, I got time and an extra stool back here. Pop a squat and tell me a story.” Jeno sighs, as if resigned to his fate, and walks around the counter to sit at the other stool. He props an elbow on the counter and leans his head on his hand, absentmindedly tracing shapes on the counter with the other.

“I don’t want you to think he’s a bad guy; he’s really not. But… we most certainly did not start off well.” Renjun crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow.

“Oh?” Jeno winces.

“He kinda, maybe, sorta laughed when I told him I liked him and handed him the flower. Then when he realized I was serious, he stared at me without saying anything for a minute before literally running away from me.” Jeno tugs at his ear. Renjun blows out a long breath.

“Well, that’s… Shitty. It’s shitty. What the fuck, Jeno?” Jeno chuckles awkwardly.

“Yeah, I was pretty heartbroken. I locked myself in my room for a while, which also sucked because we share an apartment at the university, so I could hear whenever he came in and left and everything he was doing in his room.” Renjun stares at Jeno for a beat.

“What the fuck. Don’t bring your dude here because I will probably kick his ass.” Jeno smiles a crooked grin at Renjun.

“It ended well, remember? After a week, he started pounding on my bedroom door; wouldn’t leave until I opened up. As soon as I did, he shoved a bunch of stuff into my hands and dropped to the floor to bow. He gave me this long heartfelt speech about how he’s a dick and doesn’t deserved to be forgiven but he’s sorry, blah, blah, blah, and then we talked about everything, and badda boom, badda bang, we both like each other, have for a long time, and are now dating, and the rest of our friends hate us for now acting all coupley and making them feel like a third wheel. Even though they’re already dating each other. And made us feel like awkward third wheels for years.” Jeno flutters his hands around in a ‘ta-dah!’ motion. “And we all lived happily ever after. The end?” Renjun blinks blankly at Jeno for a second. Then two. Thirty. Jeno renews his fluttering fingers as if to say ‘ta-dah!’ again.

“That seems really dumb to me,” Renjun starts. Jeno opens his mouth as if to interrupt, but Renjun shushes him. “And the guys seems like a huge idiot, but as long as you talked everything out and actually worked everything out, not ‘oh but I like him so much and I really want this to work so I’ll let him treat me like garbage’ worked out, then good.”

“When did you become my dad?” Jeno teases, grins an eye crinkle smile. Renjun rolls his eyes.

“Yah, you brat. See if I give you any more advice for free. Next time I’m going to charge you 100,000 won for my priceless advice.” Jeno laughs loudly. It fills the nooks and crannies of the shop, and the plants titter happily, bouncing in place, and Renjun can see the wilting flowers in the bargain barrel perk up to almost fresh beauty. Interesting.

“Of course, my precious Renjun-ssi. I shall cherish your words as though the gods themselves spoke them.”

“ _Yah!_ If you’re going to disrespect me, why bother with the formalities?” Jeno has a twinkle in his eye when he answers.

“Because it annoys you.” Renjun puts his head on the counter, banging it down softly enough so it doesn’t hurt, but hard enough to make a satisfying _thud_. Jeno shoves a hand underneath Renjun’s forehead, so he hits his hand.

“Get out of my shop,” Renjun mumbles. Jeno pushes Renjun’s forehead until he’s sitting upright, smile still firmly on his face.

“Okay, Renjun-ah. I’ll leave you to your brooding.” Jeno glances around the store. “As much as you can brood in a flower shop. Thank you, though. Seriously.” Heat flashes on Renjun’s face. Suddenly the wood grain in the counter becomes super interesting. Is that a gouge?

“Feel free to stop by any time. Or don’t. I mean. Either way, you know?” Renjun hears Jeno chuckle.

“Okay, Renjun-ah,” Jeno repeats. “I’ll see you later.” Renjun doesn’t look up until the twinkle of the bell and the wind pushing in from outside lets him know that Jeno is gone.  

// * // * //

“ _Wise men say, only fools jump in!_ ” The door slams open. Renjun jumps. Petals scatter across the floor. “ _But I can’t help! Falling in love! With! You!_ ” Jaemin struts across the store and drapes himself onto the counter, crushing the stems of the now petal-less tulips.

“ _Like a river flows, surely to the sea, darling so it goes; some things are meant to be!_ ” Renjun slaps a hand over Jaemin’s mouth to cut off the awful jazz improve thing that was making Frank Sinatra turn over in his grave. Jaemin licks Renjun’s hand. Renjun wipes it on Jaemin’s face.

“Who even are you? I swear this man has never walked into my store before.” Jaemin rolls his eyes at Renjun with a smile.

“Please. I know I leave a lasting impression.”

“That’s an understatement,” Renjun says under his breath. “I take it that everything went alright?” He asks a little louder. Renjun grabs the broom to start sweeping up the petals while Jaemin rolls onto his stomach on the counter, kicking his legs up and propping his head on both his fists. He beams brightly. It’s such a stark contrast when compared to the panicky boy that stumbled into his shop a week and a half ago.

“Renjun. Renjun-ah. Injunnie. You, my dude, are amazing.” Renjun raises his eyebrows at the familiarity but doesn’t say anything. He doubts it would have much effect, so he might as well save his breath. He rolls his eyes at the thought as his finished sweeping the last of the petals into the trash. Poor little guys. Renjun will have to grow more once Jaemin leaves.

“Not that I don’t agree, but you’re also just kind of an idiot who needed a shove in the right direction.” Jaemin opens his mouth to argue before shrugging and nodding.

“I mean, you right.” While he’s up, Renjun grabs some daisies, baby’s breath, and blue beauty, plopping them on the counter before pulling his stool around to sit near Jaemin’s face. Baby’s breath is easy enough to bend and shape into a circle, even without Renjun’s extra nudging. Adding the smaller flowers is a bit more tricky, but Renjun’s nothing if not a professional.

“So what happened?” Renjun asks, peeking at Jaemin as he grabs a daisy of the counter. He has a bright and whimsical smile of someone in love. It’s kind of sickening to be honest. At least the other lovesick fool that stops by isn’t this bad.

“Well,” Jaemin drawls. “As soon as I left here, I went to our apartment. He was locked in his room still; not a huge surprise. So I went and knocked on his door, and I told him that I wanted to talk to him, right? No response. So I kept knocking and knocking and knocking until he answered.”

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that you annoyed him into submission?” Renjun interrupts. Jaemin grabs some of the baby breath and throws it at Renjun. They hit his cheek lightly, and he feels their giggles echo through their touch. Renjun hopes Jaemin doesn’t notice how they clung on for a moment too long before falling.

“Hush, Renjun-ah,” Jeno says fondly, bright smile burning in Renjun’s direction. Baby’s breath starts blooming from the ceiling and wraps its way around the support beams and ceiling arches. Renjun raises an eyebrow at it, but ultimately lets it do it’s own thing. It works with the aesthetic.

Okay, he kind of hates himself for thinking that.

“ _Anyway_ . Once he opened the door, I shoved the flowers into his hand and the plushie that I bought earlier in the week that made me think of him before I remembered we weren’t really talking and a bag of his favorite candy because who doesn’t love candy, and I’m not above bribing him to forgive me, and then I got on my knees and delivered a truly inspired speech titled ‘I’m a dick but I love you, please forgive me’ and after a lot of talking, _a lot of talking_ , everything’s butterflies and rainbows, and we’re so in love.” Those old school cartoons that have the characters with heart eyes bulging from their heads when they see a pretty girl? That’s one hundred percent Jaemin. Renjun stops weaving his flowers to put a hand to his mouth.

“I regret everything. I think I’m going to be sick. You’re absolutely disgusting. Out. Get out of my store.” Jaemin’s laugh is loud and bright. The peonies and roses dance in their buckets at the sound, and the baby’s breath grows a little more until it’s draping significantly from the ceiling.

“Oh, _please_ , Renjunnie. I know you’re jealous. Especially because a hot piece of man like me is off the market.” Renjun drops the flower crown onto Jaemin’s head. He falters at Renjun’s action before looking up as though he’d be able to see the top of his head.

“Just… Make sure you treat him right, Jaemin-ah. You probably did some damage with the initial rejection, so don’t make him question your feelings for him for even a second.”

“Aw, you do care!” Jaemin says brightly, obnoxiously. Heat licks over Renjun’s face as he tries to stutter an objection. “I know, Renjunnie; I know I have a lot to make up for in his eyes, but I’m willing to take the time to do it. Thank you. For the advice and looking out for him even when you don’t know him.” Jaemin smiles softly. “You’re a really great guy.”

“Okay!” Renjun stands abruptly from his stool. “Enough sitting around for today! I have very important… Things. Yes. Many things. Of great importance. And stuff! Much stuff.” Jaemin rolls his eyes as he rolls off the counter. He hugs Renjun quickly, letting go before Renjun can react.

“Thanks for the flower crown; it’s beautiful. I’ll see you later!” Jaemin strolls out of the shop leisurely, just to pop his head back in. “I love the new flowers you have on the ceiling; really fits the vibe of the shop. Bye!”

Renjun sighs to himself and whatever deity might be listening to his woes as he tries to stop the baby’s breath from growing more.

// * // * //

“Okay, who is it?” The shop has been quiet recently, which is both a good and a bad thing. Renjun was able to cultivate the plant for the potion’s master, which means he’s gotten quite the financial boost, but that also means that it’s quiet before the storm. He doesn’t need Jisung’s help to foresee more special orders coming in. That means less time to focus on the front shop. While it’s not his primary moneymaker, it’s what he enjoys doing, so the anticipated lack of time to work on it doesn’t bode well.

“What do you mean?” Renjun asks Chenle. Earlier this morning, Chenle strolled in, all innocent smiles and coffee offerings. Renjun rolled his eyes and threw an apron at him before setting him to work rearranging the flowers for the change of spring into summer while Renjun dipped into the backyard greenhouse to grow some of the missing ones. Chenle immediately jumped on him when he came back into the store proper with arms full of sunflowers.

“Just because the flowers don’t talk to me as much as they do with you doesn’t mean I’m deaf or blind, hyung,” Chenle says with a slight smirk. “The flowers look like they’re flowing in a breeze constantly, and it looks like someone turned the color saturation way up in here. They respond to you; you’re happy. You’re never happy.”

“Yah, brat! That’s not true.” Renjun sets the sunflowers into their bucket. They all turn to face them, happy faces, bright yellow. Almost too bright. Chenle might have a point about the colors. Chenle rolls his eyes.

“Agree to disagree. But I’ve never seen the flowers in the shop like this before hyung, so it must be someone. Who is it?” Without meaning to, the crescent squint of Jeno’s eyes when he laughs and Jaemin’s bright smile pop into his mind. Chenle grins.

“Ooh, two somebodies? Hyung, you sly dog.” Renjun shoulder checks Chenle on his way to the back.

“Stay out of my head, Chenle. It’s not like that.”

As soon as he enters the greenhouse, a sea of daffodils greet him. Renjun sighs tiredly. At least they fit with the summer theme.

// * // * //

It’s been a little over two week since the last time Renjun saw Jaemin, but he’s still making flower crowns. With the new summer colors, it opens up the styles he can make. He never really sells flower crowns in the store, it’s more something he does on the side for friends or the odd child who wanders into the shop with a parent, but there’s a little market that’s going to be set up in a couple of days a few streets over that Renjun already bought a booth at. He could probably make a good profit selling them there.

So, here Renjun sits on the counter, weaving flower in different combinations and sizes. The bell above the door chimes.

“Hello, welcome! Feel free to look around, and let me know if you need help with anything,” Renjun calls without looking up. He can’t get the peach colored roses to sit just right on this crown, and it’s really starting to bother him. Renjun holds it up, tilts it this way and that trying to figure out how to adjust it.

“I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not used to hearing working Renjun.” Renjun whips his head up from the flower crown. Jeno’s eyes crinkle with the force of his smile. “It’s a nice change of pace. I was starting to worry that you’d lose your store from lack of business sense.” Renjun struggles a smile back and scowls instead.

“Please, I’m nothing if not a businessman.”

“Sure,” Jeno sing songs. Renjun rolls his eyes, smile fighting its way onto his face.

“What can I do for you today, Jeno-yah?” Jeno runs a finger over one of the daffodils. Renjun feels the happy quiver more than he sees it. Hopefully, Jeno missed it.

“Is it too hard to believe that maybe I just wanted to drop by and say hi?” Renjun shrugs and looking at the flower crown in his hands. The roses are straight and evenly spaced. Between the roses and the supplementary ferns, little white flowers have popped up and bloomed. It fills in the crown nicely; it looks like it’s fit for a prince. Or princess. Royalty. Fit for royalty.

“Hasn’t happened before, so… I don’t know.” Jeno frowns.

“I stopped by to let you know how everything went with my boyfriend.”

“Right,” Renjun trails off. Silence settles in around them. Renjun picks up another bunch of flowers to start the next flower crown, and Jeno glances around the shop awkwardly.

“So, how are things?” Jeno asks, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry, I’m just starting to realize that I don’t really know much about you.” Renjun chuckles.

“To be fair, I don’t really know much about you other than your love life is fit to be a kdrama.” Jeno laughs, sheepishly looking at the ground.

“That’s kind of embarrassing.” Jeno steps up to Renjun and holds out his hand. “Hi, my name is Lee Jeno. I’m currently in my second year of university, studying dance. I seek advice from strangers and am terrible at making new friends.” Renjun smiles, and he feels his face heat up a little bit when he grabs Jeno’s hand.

“Hi, Lee Jeno. I’m Huang Renjun. I’m a florist, and I own a shop. I’m told that I’m a terrible businessman but give adequate advice. Most of my friends are also friends from high school, and they say that I’m better with flowers than I am people.” Jeno smiles brightly at Renjun as they shake hands.

“It’s nice to meet you, Huang Renjun.”

When Jeno leaves a little over an hour later, Renjun has a new number in his phone, and Jeno has a flower crown befitting of a prince propped on his head. A text blinks at him, already from Jeno asking if it’d be okay to stop by the store again soon. Renjun tries to rationalize the jolt he gets at that message. He doesn’t reply right away, not wanting to look too eager.

Renjun knocks his head against the counter when he receives another text, this one from Jisung, telling him to not worry, that everything will be okay one way or another. Jisung never has been much help since he was raised with the rule to not reveal too much.

// * // * //

Renjun really should’ve realized something was off when Jaemin burst into his store, bell clanging with a cacophonous clatter against the door, just a day after his long conversation with Jeno. He struts up to where Renjun is clipping flower stems for a bouquet and shoves his hand into Renjun’s face.

“Hi, my name is Na Jaemin. I’m a sophomore at the University of Seoul. I’m majoring in photography. My friends call me Nana, I sometimes have panic attacks in random flower shops, and I have a new appreciation for flower crowns. You should call me Nana.” Renjun eyes Jaemin’s hand warily before eyeing Jaemin’s face warily before dropping his eyes back to his hand.

“Um. What?” Jaemin shakes his hand in Renjun’s face.

“This is the point where you introduce yourself, dummy.” Renjun shuffles the flowers between his hands.

“But we already know each other?” Jaemin drops his hand. He seems to wilt right before Renjun’s eyes. The flowers in the windowsill to Jaemin’s right lean towards him. Renjun feels their sadness echo around him.

“I just… I realized that we don’t really know anything about each other besides that I’m a garbage fire personified when it comes to my feelings. And I would like for us to be friends.” Jaemin crosses his arms, right hand tapping near his left elbow. “But if you don’t want to, like, that’s cool, too. Hyuck’s always telling me I get too comfortable with people too fast. Maybe I should just? I’m gonna go.” Before Jaemin has a chance to turn around, Renjun thrusts his hand out. Some of the flowers for the bouquet go spilling onto the counter, but he softens their fall with a quick twiddle of his fingers.

“Hi Nana, my name is Huang Renjun. I don’t really go by any nicknames unless it’s my dongsaeng’s trying to annoy me, but I didn’t mind when you called me Renjunnie or Injunnie. I like flowers so much that I opened my own store to sell them, and I’m rather skilled in making flower crowns.” Jaemin giggles as he grabs Renjun’s hand, shaking it wildly. Renjun laughs, ears burning a bright red. Jaemin keeps holding Renjun’s hand as he wiggles his cellphone out of his back pocket. When he passes it over, finally relinquishing Renjun from his grip, it’s already on a new contact screen. The contact name is already set for “Renjunnie-yah” with three different flower emoji’s on each side.

“Gimme your phone. I gotta put me in there, too!”

“Or you can just text me, and I’ll put you in my phone,” Renjun says even as he’s pulling out his phone and unlocking it to hand to Jaemin. Jaemin rolls his eyes with a huff.

“Please. You’d probably put me in your phone as something boring like ‘Jaemin’ or the like.” Renjun stares at Jaemin.

“Yes. How boring. Your actual name.” Jaemin’s tongue pokes out the side of his mouth as he types on Renjun’s phone very carefully. When Renjun gets his phone back, he has a new contact named ‘Nana.’ Next to the name is three emoji’s: a white flower, a rose, and a red heart.

Jaemin bothers him for the next hour and a half, trying to bully Renjun into teaching him how to make flower crowns. When Renjun finally caves, ten minutes into Jaemin pointing, he finds that Jaemin isn’t so bad at making them. Even when they look like they’re not going to turn out great, once Jaemin’s finished, they’re somehow perfect.

Renjun sends Jaemin home with two as a thank you. He tries not to think too hard about Jaemin giving the second one to his boyfriend. It makes him feel kind of nauseous for reasons that Renjun doesn’t want to examine.

// * // * //

It’s two days later, and Chenle is helping out at the shop again. It’s odd for him to need more money so soon, but he mumbled something about Jisung saying he needed to be here today, and Renjun has a ton of special orders filtering in, so he can’t even be annoyed with Jisung’s meddling.

Two sisters need a very specific amount of hemlock, harvested in the light of a full moon by next week. A shady character with a hefty pouch full of what looked like gold coins needs a dozen pitch-black roses; they must be grown black, not dyed or spliced with dye. And the potion’s master needs more specially grown, special order plants, as well as a booklet written up on how to keep them alive and producing what he needs. Turns out, he has a bit of a black thumb.

All in all, business is great, but Renjun is drowning slightly. A _twang_ rings out from his pocket, and Renjun catches himself smiling just a little bit. Texting with Jeno and Jaemin has helped the drowning feeling. A rag hits the back of Renjun’s head with a _thwack_ when he goes to pull his phone out. Renjun glares at an innocent-faced Chenle and the happily waving flowers. He could really do without the commentary every time he receives or sends texts, however.

Renjun grabs an empty pegged stand. It’ll be great to display the mass amounts of flower crowns that he didn’t sell at the market yesterday.

“Chenle-ah. When you’re done stirring the compost, fill the big black pots half way. I’ll take care of planting the seeds later.” Chenle sneers at Renjun.

“Ever heard of manners, hyung?” Renjun snorts and flicks some dirt at him. Chenle’s already got some compost smeared on his face, but he’s not about to tell him.

“Who’s paying you again? Oh, right. Me. Which means I’m your boss. Get back to work, kid.” Chenle sticks his tongue out at Renjun, and Renjun sticks his tongue out right back.

When Renjun walks into the main part of the shop, he sees them through the window before they see them. He stumbles backwards, falling into the back room with a loud clatter as the door chimes, signaling that they’re in the store.

“Hyung, are you okay?” Chenle’s standing over Renjun in a flash. “All I’m getting is panic.” Renjun tries to swallow, but his mouth is too dry.

“Chenle, can you please take care of the two in the store? If they ask for me, I’m not here.” Chenle raises an eyebrow at him, suspicious.

“Why? Who is it?” Renjun shakes his head.

“Please, Chenle? I’ll pay you double for today. Just. Please.” At Renjun’s near begging, Chenle scrunches his eyebrows together, but nods. He heads out into the store, calling out a cheerful greeting.

Renjun feels like an idiot. He stands up, setting the stand off to the side so Chenle doesn’t trip over it, and heads to the greenhouse to hide. Honestly, it makes sense. They’re stories were two sides of the same coin. And they were both nice, and while very different from each other, also really similar.

Of course Jaemin and Jeno are dating each other. The question is why is Renjun freaking out about it so much?

The flowers lean close to him when he sits on an overturned milk crate. He feels their soft leaves and even softer petals brush over his face and shoulders. It takes a moment to realize he’s shaking.

Renjun knew that they were both taken in the abstract. He could enjoy their company and their texts and their smiles separately and know that he didn’t have a chance but didn’t have to deal with the other half or even them acting super smitten. Now? Now they’re together. The crinkle eye laughs and the sunshine grins go together. They are happy together. And Renjun. Renjun has to deal with it. Renjun’s heart breaks a little when he realizes just how much he likes both of them.

In a different world, he probably could have loved one of them. In a different lifetime, he could have loved both of them.

“They were really disappointed that you weren’t here, hyung. They asked if you were okay.” Chenle’s presence startles Renjun out of his thoughts, hopefully clearing them before Chenle got a peek. Pink petals sprinkle off of his shoulders. The flowers around him are all bare.

“Well, uh. That’s. Yeah. Thanks, Chenle-yah.” Chenle leans against the doorway of the greenhouse, letting some of the cooler spring air drift in.

“Wanna tell me what that was all about? I’m getting less panic and more despair now.” Renjun runs a hand over his face. He strokes some of the flower stems around him, coaxing their petals to come back.

“I thought I told you to stay out of my head,” Renjun grumbles. The little pink flowers now grow back a deep blue, almost violet. More winter colors as opposed to summer, but Renjun can make it work for some of his custom orders. “I think I’m going to close the shop for a week or so. So I can catch up on the orders.”

“What did they do to you, hyung?” Renjun can hear Chenle’s frown. Renjun feels bad because Chenle is one of those people that is never not smiling. He shouldn’t be frowning, especially because of Renjun being an idiot. All of the flowers have now regained their petals, all in various deep blues and purples and blacks, except for one single yellow carnation. Renjun cuts it, brings it close, studies it. He sighs its sweet smell and puts it behind his ear.

“Nothing, Chenle-yah. And somehow, that feels worse.”

// * // * //

It’s not as hard as he thought, closing the front end of the shop for a while. Renjun can use all of his flowers for the different custom and special orders instead of having to make sure he has enough stock for the random stragglers that wander in. He can take the time and energy to focus on growing the specific things he need, and honestly, the plants he grows are more vibrant and resplendent now that he has the breathing space.

The day that Renjun decided to close for a week, he received texts from both Jaemin and Jeno. Jaemin let him know that he tried to stop by and that he was sad that Renjun wasn’t there. He said he’d try again some time that week. Jeno asked if he was okay because he knows he wouldn’t take a day off from the shop without a good reason. Renjun didn’t text either of them back.

Renjun knows that they tried coming the first day the shop was closed. He can feel the pull of the flowers as they reach towards the windows as they pass. He sees them try the door. He sees them frown when it’s locked. He sees them reach to their phones, texting and then calling when they don’t receive an answer. He sees them walk away. He sees the flowers droop as they go.

As the days go by, his phone jumps more and more, with calls and texts from both Jaemin and Jeno, and then from Chenle and Jisung. It’s on day three that Renjun finally turns his phone off and hides it under a pile of aprons. The constant rumble of the phone and ping of the messages and alerts displaying how many messages and voicemails he has grates on his anxiety.

Renjun just wants to catch up with his work and forget about everything else for a minute. It’s a lot harder than he imagined when he can’t look at baby’s breath or carnations without thinking about who he’s trying to forget. But the wilder plants help distract him, and the sheer amount of calculating and accounting he has to do for these customized orders helps overwhelm him until he’s out of his own head. It’s not great, but Renjun’s managing.

On day six, Jisung pops in.

“The door was locked,” Renjun says absentmindedly, tending to a hybrid between a venus flytrap and a rose. The person ordering it wants to give it to her girlfriend as a way to show she’s fierce and beautiful. Renjun doesn’t think it’ll go over super well, especially since the girl also asked for it to be able to snap, but Renjun isn’t contracted for his thoughts, just for his flowers.

“And now it’s not,” Jisung snaps. He grabs Renjun by the back of the collar and pulls him away from the snapping rose, making it melt back into docility as soon as Renjun stops touching it.

“Hey! I was almost done with that!” That had taken for-goddamn-ever to even get close to the right thing! And now he’s going to have to start all over. Renjun smacks Jisung’s hand until he lets go. Whirling around, Renjun pokes Jisung in the chest, glaring up at him. “What the fuck, man?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell me? What the fuck, Renjun? Why do you have your head so far up your ass?”

“Don’t talk to your elder like that,” Renjun snarls. Jisung bares his teeth.

“When you start acting older than me, then I will call you hyung, Renjun-ah.” The way that Jisung spits Renjun’s name has Renjun pushing Jisung until he’s up against the back wall, knocking soil and flowers off the surrounding surfaces. He pounds on Jisung’s chest with his finger.

“You come into my store, and you disrespect me like this? Where is youre head at, kid?” Jisung smacks Renjun’s hand away.

“I want to know why you’re throwing away your chance to be happy! You’re sitting here moping and isolating yourself. You don’t answer me or Chenle, let alone Jeno and Jaemin! You’re making yourself miserable, and let me tell you, you’re making a lot more people miserable by digging deeper into your hole.” Renjun turns his back on Jisung at the mention of Jaemin and Jeno.

“What happened to not sharing your knowledge of the future?” Renjun drops back into the stool in front of what was supposed to be the snapping rose. He drags a finger through the dirt so he doesn’t have to look at Jisung. Jisung sighs and leans on the table next to where Renjun sits.

“I don’t have to be able to see the future to know what you’re doing, hyung. Self-sabotage is kind of your M.O.” Renjun laughs sarcastically.

“Thanks, Jisung-ah. You can see yourself out.”

“No, I’m serious, hyung. When was the last time you allowed yourself to be happy? To try for something that you really wanted?” Renjun crosses his arms, glares at the wall. “Seriously, Renjun?”

“What do you want me to say, Jisung?” Renjun explodes up off of his stool, flinging his arms out. “You want me to say that I’m sad? That sometimes I feel left out when I see you and Chenle? That I feel alone all the time? Like I’m a redundancy? Well, congratulations, kid! Consider this me ‘fessing up. Congratu-fucking-lations.” Renjun turns away from Jisung. He lets the tears that have built up fall. He tries to make it stop, but before he can help it, his shoulders are shaking, and Renjun is really crying. Jisung grabs him by the shoulder, turning him until his face is tucked into Jisung’s chest.

“They already have each other, Sungie; they don’t need or want me, and I want them too much.” Jisung pats his back awkwardly. He’s been someone who has too much limbs since he hit his growth spurt; it makes everything he does a little bit awkward.

“You don’t know that they don’t want you. From what Chenle has said, they text you all the time. They even hang out at your whack-ass flower shack just to see you.” Jisung pats the top of Renjun’s head. “It’s understandable to be afraid, but sometimes taking the risk is worth it, even if you’re doomed to fail.” Renjun pulls back from Jisung and stares up at him suspiciously.

“Have you already seen that I’m going to fail? Are you setting me up for some kind of lesson?” Jisung rolls his eyes at Renjun, rubbing his hand roughly through his hair.

“I’m not that much of an asshole.”

“Debatable,” Renjun mumbles under his breath as he ducks out from Jisung’s grip, trying to fix his hair in the process.

“You know that I wouldn’t do that if I saw something along those lines,” Jisung says, ignoring Renjun. “Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t actually like seeing you hurt.” Jisung grabs Renjun by both shoulders and looks him right in the eye. “Talk to them. Both of them. I’m telling you this as a friend and as someone who knows a little something about the future, okay?” Renjun’s shoulder creep up to his ears under Jisung’s meaningful gaze.

“Alright, alright. I’ll talk to them.” Jisung keeps looking at Renjun. He squirms. “I promise! Just quit looking at me!” Jisung stares for a beat longer before breaking into a smile.

“Don’t worry so much, Renjunnie-hyung.” He sandwiches Renjun’s face between his hands, squishing his face pretty thoroughly. “You’re too cute not to love.” Jisung squawks in surprise, dropping Renjun’s face, and whips around. The snapping rose waggles back and forth tauntingly before snapping at Jisung again. Jisung stumbles back, tripping over a milk crate. He glares up at Renjun.

“Fine, I’m leaving, you jerk. Didn’t have to sic your plants on me.” Jisung continues to grumble under his breath as a gets up, rubbing his butt. Renjun laughs as he goes. He strokes the petals of the snapping rose, and it purrs underneath his touch.

Okay. Maybe he gets the appeal. Just a little bit.

// * // * //

Renjun turns his phone on later that night in the safety of his apartment above the shop. Once it loads up, it rattles and beeps and clangs with various notifications for a solid thirty seconds. He has a blanket wrapped around him and hooded on his head as he checks through the texts and the voicemails. Most of them were time stamped for the first few days of Renjun’s panic, but they peter off after a bit. With shaky hands, Renjun loops Jaemin and Jeno into a group message.

_I know you guys are probably pissed at me right now, but if you come by the shop tomorrow, it’ll be open for you. I probably owe you an explanation._

He doesn’t get a response, but he deserves that. The snapping rose sighs sadly from its spot on his nightstand. Renjun can’t help but agree.

// * // * //

The client is annoyed and frustrated when Renjun tells her that the snapping rose will take a little longer to deliver on than originally thought, but when Renjun looks over at Jeffrey (a super white sounding name just seemed fitting for him) waving happily on the counter of the shop, snapping at a stray fly as it circles, Renjun knows he made the right choice. Renjun pets Jeffrey’s leaves softly, and he nibbles on his hand. He never thought that he would find a carnivorous plant that can kill you by eating you to be adorable, but here he is. Renjun coos at Jeffrey, and Jeffrey coos back. This is why Renjun has relationship problems. Plants understand him better, and he understands them better in turn.

The bells above the door twinkle softly, and Renjun quickly stows Jeffrey under the counter. He snaps at Renjun half-heartedly until Renjun pulls out some of the beef jerky he bought last night and shoves it next to him.

Renjun wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he saw Jeno and Jaemin again, but he’s gotta say, blank stares weren’t it. Renjun is so used to seeing a world of emotion in both of them; they just seem to feel so much so often, but now they seem wiped clean. They stand in the middle of the shop, not approaching the counter like they normally do. They stare at Renjun. Renjun scratches the back of his head, staring off to the right so he doesn’t have to look at them.

“Uh, Jeno-yah. Jaemin-ah. Hey. Good to see you.”

“What do you want, Renjun?” Jaemin asks flatly. Renjun flinches at the tone of voice. He deserves it, of course he does, but it doesn’t make it sting any less.

“I wanted to apologize.” Renjun breathes out, feeling all of the tension release from his body just from having the two there, but also feeling all the fight leave him, feel all the weight of his choices. “I was an asshole. Am. I am an asshole. I ghosted you both in every sense of the word, and that’s such a shitty thing to do, but I did it anyway. And I’m sorry. Neither of you deserve that.” Renjun chances a look at the two. Jaemin looks like he’s barely controlling his anger while Jeno just looks sad. Renjun’s not sure which one is worse.

“Why?” Jeno asks gently. Renjun looks on as Jaemin looks at Jeno softly, squeezing his hand reassuringly, before turning back to glare at Renjun.

“Because I’m an idiot?” Renjun tries. Jeno keeps looking at Renjun like a kicked puppy. Renjun sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “Okay. So, like, I met you guys separately right? Both in the throes of a kdrama worthy romance debacle. And, objectively, I thought, ‘wow, super cute guys. Pretty nice. Cool.’ Thought that would be the end of it.

“Then you both came back. And then again. And then you gave me your phone numbers, and we started talking a lot, and I realized how great of guys you actually are. Still with me? Okay, so, maybe I had like a teeny-tiny crush on both of you. Totally knew it wouldn’t happened; you’re both happily taken. Go team, and all that.” Renjun awkwardly pumps his fist before coughing, scratching the back of his neck. He’s never been so outright with someone, let alone two someones, before, so he’s kind of off-balance right now. Doesn’t help that he’s kind of just an awkward guy in general and that Jeno and Jaemin are just kind of staring at him like he’s grown a third eye.

“Anyway.” Renjun clears his throat. “The day that you met Chenle, I saw you guys first. Together. For the first time, and I kind of… Panicked?” Renjun laughs sadly at himself. “Yeah, I panicked hard. It would be my luck that the two guys that I like were already dating each other, so I felt kind of stupid. So, I thought it best to distance myself because… Well… In the grand scheme of things, I’m not really important anyways.” Renjun winces a little; that came out a lot realer than anticipated, but they deserve the truth. Renjun turns away from the two, turns to look at the rows his now droopy, prematurely wilting flowers. Even from where he’s stashed, Renjun can hear the unhappy chittering of Jeffrey. Sometimes it sucks that flowers are so empathetic. 

The clicking of boots against the floor catches his attention, and Renjun tries not to flinch back from the sound. Warm hands cradle Renjun’s face, pulling it up to look at Jeno who is gazing at Renjun with a sad smile.

“That day we came in together? We were going to ask if you wanted to go out for coffee. With both of us. As a date.” Renjun blanches, the words not computing. He looks over at Jaemin who is a step behind Jeno and then back to Jeno.

“Wh-what?” Jeno’s thumb rubs softly over Renjun’s cheekbone, the feeling sends warm shivers down his spine.

“Once Jaemin-ah and I figured our shit out, we got talking about the florist that helped get our heads out of our asses. The cute guy who doesn’t mince words but also is very compassionate. It took me coming home with the flower crown for Jaemin and I to put two and two together that you were the same guy. After we got your number and started talking with you more, well.” Jeno looks back at Jaemin, who still has his arms crossed but now is also smiling a little. “We both decided we wanted to try. And we thought you liked us, too. That’s why it hurt so much when you disappeared without a word for a week. You didn’t even respond to our texts.” Renjun grips Jeno’s wrists to keep him from pulling his hands away.

“I’m really sorry. Really, I am. You two are just so… And I’m just me, you know?”

“That’s why we like you, Junnie.” Jaemin steps up next to Jeno, grabbing one of Renjun’s hands from Jeno’s wrist, holding it tightly in his own. “Your bitchy, no nonsense, caring but pretending not to attitude is part of you. And we like _you_ , Renjun. Everything we’ve seen so far. And we’d really like the opportunity to get to know you more.” Renjun’s eyes begin to water slightly. He tries to pull away so he can wipe them, but Jeno holds him still, swiping gently as a tear falls.

“Well, if you still want to, coffee sounds great.” If Renjun thought that Jaemin was brighter than the sun when he smiled, then both of them together have to be on the level of a supernova. Jaemin runs his free hand through Renjun’s bangs while squeezing his hand lightly.

“Coffee sounds great,” Jaemin repeats softly.

On their first date, their first _official_ date a few days later, Renjun brings each of them a flower: a white carnation for Jeno and a pink lily for Jaemin. When he hands them over, the stems grow and wrap around their hands until they’re firmly locked together, making Renjun go bright red, stuttering different explanations and excuses. Jeno and Jaemin seem amused but not surprised in the slightest.

“You’re not as subtle as you think you are, Junnie,” Jaemin giggles. He touches the vine softly, and it sizzles slightly until it smoulders down, freeing Jaemin from Renjun, stem now the perfect length for him to stick behind his ear.

“Just wait until you see what we can do,” Jeno says with a terrible wink that’s more of a blink, eyes turning a bright white before fading back to their warm brown.

But that’s a story for another time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for making it to the end of this clusterfuck! I appreciate you taking the time :)
> 
> Come say hi to me on twitter @SugarLeigh_AO3; I don't update very often right now, but I might put snippets of upcoming chapters/fics there ;) <3


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